99 Problems: A Sean Cameron Story
by super hot female
Summary: As summer rolls around, the one who seems to need it most is Sean. After a stressful first year in grade nine, he could use a break. But little does he know that when his cousin, Veronica, comes to town that more drama would follow. Chapter four ADDED!
1. Movin' On Up

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Degrassi. If I did, I'd be married to Auburey Graham right now, or something. The only characters are mine are Sean's cousin and .. anyone else I make up.

**  
  
chapter one: movin' on up.**

Summer. The only time of the year where you could just kick back, relax, and enjoy no school, no homework, no teachers - and no drama. That's how the three months of total freedom were saw in the eyes of sixteen year old Sean Cameron. Grade 9 had been .. complete and utter hell, as Sean once put it. The D in DHS might as well had stood for drama, because Sean had his share of it, for his first year (which should have been his second) of high school.  
  
Sometimes he regret making friends with Jay and his crew. That way he wouldn't have almost flunked, again, stolen from his ex's step-father, along with almost getting arrested not once, not twice, but three times through out the year. His drinking problem had gotten a tad worse since he partied every chance he was given with Jay and the crew, and to Sean's dismay, he and his brother, Tracker, had drifted apart. They argued more than ever, which ended in Sean getting the trailor to himself, which was a good thing, in his opinon. Even had lost to many people this year; his brother, his girlfriend ..  
  
Emma. Emma Nelson. The self-proclaimed enviornmentalist, feminist, and 'prude princess', as Manuella Santos had called her. Sean and Emma had been on again, off again, and then back on again for the past three years. And when grade nine had come around, it started off rocky, as Emma wanted him to help her find her birth father. "I have shop class," he had told her, and to his dismay, she gave him that pissed, angry yet hurt look he was so use to, and shrugged it off.  
  
That's where it started to go down hill.  
  
They had gotten into a fight, because he was angry at her for not spending time with him. It felt kind of selfish, yes, considering what she was going through. Losing her best friend to the peer pressure of high school, her step-father being diagnosed with cancer, and baby-sitting her new born baby brother. Sean didn't see himself ever having time with her anymore, and they had argued, and when Emma had tried to aplogized, he acted like an ass and shuned her. Spat on her. Gave her dirty looks every chance he got.  
  
She deserved it, in his eyes, especially now that she was with Chris, the guy who refered to Sean as "Slim Shady", which made Sean dislike him even more. It was bad enough he had to put up with him being with Emma - smiling at her, laughing with her, touching her .. it made him feel sick. It made him feel alone, unwanted.  
  
He didn't need her anymore. Really.  
  
The only thing that Sean had going for him lately was Ellie Nash. She understood him, and he her. They had similar backgrounds -- Ellie hated her mother just as much as Sean hated his parents. They were both unpopular for being different, which seemed to bring them closer, and Sean hadn't felt that way with Emma. With Emma, all he did was try not and screw up, not to look bad. He felt comfortable with Ellie. Which was why he was glad he sat through that Saturday dention from hell with her, Toby Issacs, his former "friend", Jimmy Brooks and Hazel Aden. It all seemed to be worth it -- if he hadn't broken up with Emma, hung out with Jay, got in trouble and sent to dention, he wouldn't be with Ellie. It was worth it.  
  
Wasn't it?  
  
A few weeks after Tracker had left, he had gotten a call from his mother. From what he could understand of her drunk babbling, he was apparently supposed to expect a phone call from his aunt, on his mother's side. He had asked his mother what about, but only gotten a rather loud, drunken giggle in response, and something Sean had determined was "I don't know, bye." Confused, he had hung up, thinking nothing of it.  
  
But, for once, his mother had been right about something, and in the middle of watching TV one night, his phone rang. His Aunt Cordelia was on the other line, cheerful as ever, and he sometimes wondered how she and his mother were related. She asked him how he was, what Tracker was up too, if he was still dating that Emma girl .. and he had told he was fine, Tracker is still a lazy-ass, and that he and Emma had broken up, and that he was now with a girl named Ellie. After chit-chatting with her for a while, he raised an eyebrow, finally asking the question he had been wondering since his drunk mother had called; "What did you want to ask me?"  
  
"Well, you know you're my favorite nephew.." was the response, and Sean could tell he was in for it now. When someone said he was his favorite anything, he knew he was pretty much screwed, and there was nothing he could do about it. He took a deep breathe, ready to face the worse, and listened to his aunt's voice on the other end.  
  
Apparently his uncle and her had seperated, because he had hit her, which Sean had suspected for a long time. She had gotten a ton of money from him, and instead of having joint custody of his cousin, Veronica, that the judge was allowing her to move anywhere she wanted with her amount of money, as long as she had someone in the family living with her. Veronica conviently had chosen to move to Toronto from Wasaga Beach, and since Tracker was nowhere to be found, she wanted to live with Sean. "Only if you want too, though. There's no pressure."  
  
Yeah, right. Like he could say no.  
  
So he had agreed, and his Aunt was pleased, and told him about the house Veronica had purchased. It sounded great compared to Sean's damp and dark trailor, and when he asked her where it was in Toronto, he wished he never did. "Degrassi Street," his aunt said, and he felt a huge lump in his throat. The house was apparently across the street from the Nelson-Simpson residence, and to Sean's dismay, Emma wouldn't be moving any time soon. And so, reluctantly, he began to pack, along with Ellie's help, to move to Degrassi St., and prepared for his cousin Ronnie's arrival.  
  
He was excited to see her. Especially since the last time they had seen each other, they had left it off on the wrong foot, and Sean felt bad for what he put her through. Ronnie had a boyfriend, Carter, who was a complete jackass, and Sean hated him with a passion. He remembered hearing him call Ronnie an "easy whore" to some of his friends, and laughing, and Sean had snapped, right there and then, in the middle of the hall way.  
  
Carter was the guy who Sean had made half deaf.  
  
The reason he was in Toronto, attending Degrassi, going through all the drama of his life, was because he was defending his favorite, innocent cousin.  
  
Sean sat on the steps of his new house in his new neighboorhood, headphones blaring on his head, dressed in his regular attire -- a grey hoodie, wifebeater, and baggy jeans. He stared blankly at Emma's house across the street. When Emma had found out Sean was moving in the neighboorhood, he had heard an earful of complants from Mr. Simpson, of all people. He shrugged it off and thought nothing of it, and just as his ex's step-father being protective of his step-daughter. Ellie nearly cried from laughing when he had told her, which made him feel better about it. 'Atleast someone else thought Emma was being a total bitch,' he thought to himself.  
  
He stood up, streching slightly as he continued to stare at the house across the street. He suddenly heard voices, one he recongized as Emma's, and the other he soon realized was Liberty Van Zandt's, and he groaned. Liberty had developed a crush on him, as her attempt to get over JT Yorke, and it made Sean completly sick to his stomach. He quickly pulled his hood over his now longer, surfer like blonde hair, starting towards the other way as he could feel Emma's angry eyes on his back.  
  
As soon as he felt out of Emma's vision, he glanced towards her, and then rolled his eyes. 'It's better this way, Cameron. You have Ellie, Ronnie's coming here, and it's all good.', he reassured himself, and continued to walk down the street. He cursed at himself for even thinking about Emma, and also telling Ellie she could go ahead and go to some concert with Ashley Kerwin, and that he didn't need her to give him a ride to the airport. He groaned as he reached the basketball court at the local park, and leaned against the old, rusted fence. His eyebrows were raised slightly as he saw four figures playing basketball, and then realized who they were. Craig Manning, Spinner Mason, Marco del Rossi, and Jimmy Brooks. His former group of "friends."  
  
He hadn't talked to Craig since he started hanging out with Jay, and a part of him felt bad for that. Craig had always been there for him, ever since they met, Sean was in grade eight, and Craig grade nine. But, he didn't see it as a one-sided friendship, and realized Craig had been busy himself, with the Ashley/Manny love triangle he had going on all year long. He didn't even know what was going on with that, but he could see why Craig wanted to be with both of them, considering he had a thing for Ashley once upon a time. And although he never wanted to admit it, Manny did look good all of a sudden, and had gone from an innocent little girl to a mature, sexy young woman. Craig was a lucky, lucky guy that either girls hadn't punished him as much as he deserved.  
  
Spinner, even though he was a complete dumbass, was a good friend, Sean had to admit. Even though he babbled on about Paige way to much and followed her around like a lost puppy, Spin was an all right guy. He never knew why he and Spinner had stopped talking, and he assumed it was because Jimmy was his best friend, and would shun Spinner if he was caught talking to him.  
  
Marco, Sean knew, didn't like him. He and Marco use to be friends, but ever since Ellie had came into Sean's life, Marco seemed angry at him. Why, he couldn't figure out, since Ellie had told him that Marco was beyond happy with Dylan. Sean had come to the conclusion that he was just being protective of Ellie, his best friend, and former "girlfriend", and Sean had to get use to that. He didn't want too, exactly, but he had too, if he didn't want to be chewed out by Ellie.  
  
And then there was Jimmy. The two had never gotten along in the first place, especially after Sean's little make-out session with Ashley when she took E. The two had gotten into a ton of fist fights, over Ashley, and basketball, and it seemed like they would never get along. Spinner finally convinced Jimmy to suck it up and invite Sean to a party he was having, and the two seemed like they could get over their differences, but Sean had made it worse by stealing Jimmy's parent's liquior. He and Jimmy hadn't talked since.  
  
Shrugging, realizing he still had to find a ride, Sean pushed himself off the fence, and started to walk away. It's not like any of them were to talk to him, anyway.  
  
"Hey, Sean!"  
  
Or not. Sean's bushy eyebrows were raised as he turned around to see Craig making his way towards him, Marco not so far behind. Spinner and Jimmy were still playing ball, and Jimmy shot Sean a dirty look every chance he got.  
  
"What up, man." Sean said, grinning as Craig and himself exchanged a hug/handshake. He then looked to Marco, nodding upwards, "Hey, Marco."  
  
"Hi." Marco replied dryly. Sean couldn't help but roll his eyes, and looked back over to Craig.  
  
"You wanna stick around and play some two on two? Marco keeps saying he needs to go cause he has a date, and I'm sure you n' I can take on Spin's lazy ass and Jimmy." Craig said, a cocky grin on his face as he got the finger from Jimmy in response.  
  
"You wish, Manning!" Spinner had called out, making his way over to the three now. Jimmy followed, still giving Sean a look. "Hey, Sean."  
  
"Hey, Spin." Sean said, nodding some, "But nah, I'd love to kick your guys' asses, but I gotta pick up my cousin Ronnie up at the airport and I need to get a ride."  
  
"We can give you one," Spinner blurted out, and was elbowed by Jimmy, "What! Damn, did Paige teach you that? Anyway. Jimbo here has his new escalade, and we can get your cousin, and he can play three-on-three with us instead, so Marco can stick around a while longer."  
  
"It's fine, man, I can just wal.."  
  
"Chicken?" Jimmy interupted, a sly, yet cocky grin on his face. Sean glared at him, and Craig cleared his throat, sensing the sudden tension.  
  
"Well! Let's get going, we don't want to miss your cousin's flight." He said, pushing Sean towards Jimmy's escalade, the other three following.  
  
'This is gonna be a long ass car ride,' Sean thought to himself, making a face.


	2. Riding in Cars with Boys

Finally! Ahaha. Yes, I'm a lazy person and had NO ideas til today. So don't kill me if it's short, I am dying of hunger. Once again I do not own Degrassi, but Ronnie is mine. stamps a copyright symbol on her

* * *

There is never a dull moment when you are in a car with Spinner Mason.  
  
He begged Jimmy to stop at the 7-11, despite my protests that my cousin will shoot me if I'm late.   
  
Spin didn't care.  
  
Craig had said he would end up getting lost and sitting in one of the aisles eating twinkies while we waited outside, and I laughed. Spin's determined, and ignored it. He waves it off, saying he'll be back in a couple of minutes. He asks any of us if we want anything. Craig hands him some money for a bottle of coke, and Marco asks him for a Mountain Dew. I shrugged and said to get a decent kind of chips, and Jimmy yells out the window at him that he better not buy any spray cheese, because he doesn't want it all over his car.  
  
But he does anyway.  
  
He comes out of the 7-11 with about three to four plastic bags in his hands, grinning like an idiot. Jimmy shot him a glare and he smiled innocently, handing the change to Jimmy. Gas money. Craig, Marco and I burst into laughter as Jimmy rolled his eyes, smirking as he pretended to take off without Spinner. Spinner had yelled, cursing Jimmy out, running after the black escalade, and the whole gas station parking lot across the street from the 7-11 was staring.   
  
We finally let Spinner in the car, and he smacked Jimmy upside the head, calling him an asshole. Jimmy retorted with a comment saying Spinner could always walk, and Spinner flipped him off, causing Marco, Craig and I to burst into laughter yet again.  
  
I chuckled at the look on Jimmy's face when Spinner busted open the first can of spray cheese. Craig grabbed his coke and made some comment about putting Spinner in a room and gave him only spray cheese that he'd survive. Marco shuttered at the thought, saying that it's the most disgusting junk food ever, and grabbed a handful of chips and his Moutain Dew. Spinner told Marco that he didn't know what he was missing, his mouth full that you could barely understood him, and Marco rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath how much of a pig Spinner was.  
  
Craig and I laughed, along with Jimmy, and we were on our way to the airport.   
  
Spinner had this thing about screaming out "Slug bug!" and socking my arm or Marco's at any chance he got. Marco and I would smack him back, and Spinner would retort that's "not how you play the game". Marco smirked, and saw a slug bug and hit Spinner so hard that he choked on his spray cheese.   
  
It was hilarious.  
  
We were half way to the airport, and it suddenly had gotten quiet - except Craig's constant drumming of his fingers against the dashboard when a song that he liked was on the radio, and Spinner downing yet another can of spray cheese. He had then broken the silence, and said we should play a game of choose - and everyone reluctantly agreed.  
  
"Alright, Lord Stud, choose - Manny or Ashley?" Spinner asked, a smug smile on his face, and Craig rolled his eyes.  
  
"Spin, man, you could have asked a better question." Craig replied, and Spinner shrugged.  
  
"Just choose and shut up so you can ask, then." Spinner said, staring at Craig. I snickered.  
  
Craig glared at him, and then faced the front, seriously thinking about it. He then shrugged, glancing over to Spinner and blinked. "I don't know. Manny, I guess, since Ashley hates my guts with a passion."  
  
"A burning, fiery passion." Marco chimed in.  
  
"Thanks, Marco."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
Jimmy and I laughed, and Marco joined in. Spinner did eventually, getting the joke somewhat, and Craig rolled his eyes.  
  
"Alright, Spin, choose." Jimmy said, looking to Spinner through the rear view mirror, "Paige or .. a lifetime supply of spray cheese."   
  
"That's completly and utterly not fair, Brooks." Spinner said, wide eyed.  
  
"Why not? It's a decent question. Now choose."  
  
"You guys know I can't choose between Paige and food."  
  
"Just wait til she hears that .." I commented, and Spinner shot me a look. I grinned sheepishly, "Relax, man. So what is it? Paige or your beloved cheese?"  
  
"Honestly?" Spinner asked, and Marco, Craig and I turned to look at him.  
  
".. Spray cheese, because Paige can be a total bitch sometimes. But you tell her I said that and I will kill all four of you."  
  
"....."  
  
"...."  
  
"...."  
  
"...."  
  
The car erupted into laughter. Spinner huffed, crossing his arms as he glared at the back of Jimmy's head, muttering curse words under his breath.  
  
"Alright, Sean," Marco said, trying to stop his laughter, "Choose - hanging out with us or hanging out with your other friends."  
  
"What kind of question is that?" Craig said, his eyebrows raised.  
  
"Yeah, give Slim Shady a better question," Jimmy asked, and Marco threw his hands in the air, fustrated.  
  
"Alright, alright. Choose - Emma or Ellie."   
  
I stared at Marco, and silence filled the car yet again. Craig cleared his throat, and I raised my eyebrows, muttering under my breath, thinking of an answer.   
  
"I can't choose between them, man." I finally said, as soon as Jimmy pulled into the airport parking lot.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Jimmy, let me borrow some cash."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because."  
  
"Because why?"  
  
"Because I want a pretzel."  
  
".. You just ate like, 20 pounds of spray cheese."  
  
"So? I'm still hungry. Now give me some money."  
  
"Aight, aight. Damn, you're like a garbage disposal." Jimmy rolled his eyes, pulling out some money out of his pocket, handing it to Spinner, who ran over to the preztel stand. We all laughed, and I shook my head, smirking.  
  
"He's like a kid in a candy store."  
  
"Only worse," Marco commented, and I nodded my head in agreement.   
  
I looked around for a clock. 4:30. I pulled out the crumpled piece of paper with Ronnie's flight number and arrival time out of my pocket, rereading it. I heard Jimmy let out a low whistle, ignoring it as I continued to look around for my cousin.  
  
"Man, look over there." Jimmy said, nodding towards the girl in question. Craig looked as well, smirking somewhat.  
  
"She's pretty cute."   
  
"Who's cute? Where?" Spinner said, his mouth full.  
  
"Uh, Spin? Aren't you forgetting something?" Marco asked, rolling his eyes.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know, that you have Paige?"   
  
"Oh, yeah. Shut up, Marco. Quit being so girly."   
  
I put the piece of paper in my pocket, looking to the girl in question. She was short -- not that short, but still. She had on a light yellow strapless dress, with jeans underneath, and matching yellow flipflops. She had dirty blonde, curly hair, and blue eyes. I let a smile cross my face.   
  
"Yo, Ronnie!"   
  
She turned around, and smiled. "Sean!" she yelled back, and all four of them turned to stare at me, wide eyed and eyebrows raised as Ronnie made her way over.  
  
"That's your cousin?" Craig asked, in disbelief, blinking.  
  
"Woah, wait. Your cousin is .." Jimmy trailed off, raising his eyebrows as he looked to me.  
  
"I'm confused." Spinner added, rubbing the back of his head.  
  
I smirked, shrugging as I walked over, deciding to meet her halfway. "Yep, that's her."  
  
She put down her backpack and threw her arms around me, enveloping me in a hug. I laughed, hugging back as I ruffled her hair as we finally let go of each other and looked her over, smirking. "Since when did you start dressing so girly?"  
  
"Since when did you become the next Eminem?" She asked, pointing to my beanie with a grin.   
  
"Don't hate on the hat, yo." I commented, faking a pout as she rolled her eyes, laughing. She looked over my shoulder at Spinner, Jimmy, Marco and Craig, who all were staring in shock, "Those your friends?"   
  
"Something like that," I shrugged as we walked over to them, "Veronica Cameron, this is Craig Manning, Marco del Rossi, Spinner Mason and Jimmy Brooks. Guys, this is my cousin Ronnie."   
  
They all muttered their hellos, and Ronnie smiled faintly. Spinner pointed a finger at her, and then to me, staring accusingly.   
  
"I thought you said that your cousin's name is Ronnie."  
  
"I did."  
  
"And you said he was a dude."  
  
"No, I didn't."  
  
"You did too."  
  
"Spin, shut up." Jimmy said, elbowing Spinner in the side and smiled flirtatiously at Ronnie, "Ignore him. He's .. special." Spinner glared at Jimmy, and let out a small giggle. I eyed Jimmy, my eyebrows raised.  
  
"Well, should we get your luggage?" I asked her, and she nodded.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"I will never understand why girls have so much stuff," Spinner said as we finished putting Ronnie's luggage in the back of Jimmy's car. Ronnie laughed, patting Spinner on the head who beamed, and I rolled my eyes.  
  
Great. My 'friends' having the hots for my cousin.  
  
"Manning, sit in the back," Jimmy started as well all started to pile in the car, "Miss Ronnie gets shot gun." he looked over to Ronnie, grinning and winked at her. Ronnie's face turned red.  
  
"It's ok, really. I can sit in the back." she said, shrugging her shoulders. I snorted, and Jimmy shot me a look.   
  
I grinned, shrugging innocently.   
  
"Nah, it's ok, 'Ronica. I can sit in the back." Craig shot her a smile, and she smiled back. Spinner and I looked to each other and started making gagging noises, and Craig and Jimmy both shot us looks.   
  
Once we were all piled in, I couldn't help but smirk at the seating arragements. Jimmy in the driver's seat, Ronnie in shot gun, Marco, Craig and I, and then Spinner in the way back. He had been laying down, groaning and complaining about eating to much. Jimmy had said if he threw up he's definatly walking his ass all the way back to Degrassi, and Spinner had thrown a can of spray cheese at him, which had barely missed and hit the back of his seat.   
  
I raised my eyebrows I saw Jimmy and Ronnie smiling at each other, and glanced to Craig, who had a look of jealousy on his face.  
  
Just what I needed -- two of my friends falling for my cousin.


	3. Choose: Craig or Jimmy?

Wee. Yet another chapter, I didn't wait almost a month to write this one. You all should be proud of me. points So yes. This chapter is in Ronnie's p.o.v, I think you can tell by the change of attitude. But anyway. Once again, I don't own Degrassi, and Ronnie is mine. Steal and I'll bite. :(  
  
And thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far!! Keep the reviews coming, the more reviews, the more I update. :D

* * *

99 Problems: A Sean Cameron Story.  
  
Chapter Three: Choose - Craig or Jimmy?

* * *

My cousin has some weird friends.  
  
Really cute, but weird friends.  
  
After we had left the airport Spinner automatically felt better and showed me why they "called him the Spray Cheese King". So. gross. Jimmy had smirked and told me it's a miracle that Spin had a boyfriend, causing the car to burst into laughter, and Spinner pouted in the back seat as he threw a chip at Jimmy. Marco seemed pretty cool, too. And Craig? The kid was cute. Real cute. But Jimmy was pretty fine himself ..  
  
_Sean is gonna kill me for likin' his friends.._  
  
I leaned back in the plush passenger seat of Jimmy's car, turning the air conditioning vent on my side to face me. We were stuck in traffic, for the past ten minutes (which Spinner was saying it seemed more like half an hour) and it seemed like we'd be like that for a while. I watched through the rear view mirror as Marco stuck his head out the window, seeing how much traffic was ahead.  
  
By the look on his face and the groan he let out when he rolled the window back up a few moments later, it was going to be a while.  
  
"All right, since we are obviously going to be here for a long ass time.. since I think Marco and Sean both know I can kick their asses at the slug bug game," Spinner smiled cheekily, "we're playing choose."  
  
"We played it on the way there, man." Jimmy said, and I raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Choose? What's that?"  
  
Spinner stared at me, surpassed. "I give you two things and you have to choose between them. Thus, the name choose."  
  
"In other words it's Spinner's way to entertain himself without choking on spray cheese," Craig said, grinning at me and I let out a giggle.  
  
"Bite me, Manning."  
  
"Wouldn't Paige do the honors of that? Or have you two not gone that far?"  
  
"........"  
  
"That's what I thought."  
  
"I hate you, Craig."  
  
"Love you too, Spin."  
  
"Alright, all right. Shut up. I need to think of a good choose question for Ronnie." Spinner crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, a serious look on his face. Marco and Sean started humming the Jeopardy theme, smug smiles on their faces as Spinner hit them both upside the head, then going back to thinking.  
  
"This might take days," Jimmy commented, and I laughed as he looked over to me, grinning.  
  
The boy had a cute smile, too. _Shit. Shiiiiiiiiiiit. If Sean ever finds out --  
  
_"All right! Ronica, choose - Craig or Jimmy?"  
  
What. the. hell.  
  
I turned around in my seat, my cheeks bright red as I stared at Spinner. Sean turned around to give him the look, and Craig turned bright red as he cleared his throat. Marco was trying to not to burst into laughter, and Jimmy was even blushing as well.  
  
Spinner sat, smiling like an idiot, proud of his question.  
  
I cleared my throat. Tucking a loose curl from behind my ear I thought about it for a moment, trying not to give an answer that gave the question away -- especially since I had no idea what the answer was myself. "It depends," I said, slowly, shrugging my shoulders.  
  
"Depends on what?" Sean looked over to me, giving me a knowing smile. Damn! Not him too.  
  
"Yeah, depends on what?" Marco chimed in, grinning, as Craig shot him a look, Jimmy as well.  
  
"It depends on if whatever one's single," I finally blurted out, throwing Spinner, Marco and Sean a glare as I turned around back in my seat.  
  
Laughter erupted from Marco and Spinner, and Sean shook his head, smirking widely. I raised my eyebrows, as Jimmy cleared his throat yet again, and Craig was desperately trying not to beat the shit out of his friends.  
  
"What? What's so funny about that?"  
  
"Well. Jimmy is in the process of getting rid of the old' ball and chain," Spinner started, grinning as Jimmy threw his hand up to flip him off, "And Craig .. Craig is Lord Stud. Just because he is."  
  
"It's a looooooong story." Marco said, waving a hand in the air, trying to obviously save Craig. I looked over to Sean, and he gave me a look as if to say 'I'll tell you later.'  
  
"Well, We obviously got time," I said, motioning onto the ongoing traffic, "And I'd like to hear about Jimbo's "ball and chain," as well as Craigger's little story about how he came to be Lord Stud." I looked to Jimmy, batting my eyelashes innocently, grinning, and then doing the same to Craig.  
  
The back seat erupted into laughter yet again, minus Craig. "Craiggers and Jimbo? Damn. I'm putting those in my "nicknames to piss the guys off" collection. Nice one, Ronnie." Spinner said, leaning forward to give me a high five, and I burst into laughter and high-fiving him back. Craig and Jimmy were both bright red, muttering things under their breath.  
  
"I hate you guys," Jimmy said, looking to his friends in the back seat, who smiled innocently at him.  
  
"We love you too, Jim." I grinned at him, patting his shoulder.  
  
"OooOoooooOOoo!"  
  
"Shut up! Ya'll are so immature," I laughed, glaring at them as I stuck my tongue out, "Anyway. Tell me about Jimmy's apparently ex girlfriend."  
  
Marco calmed down a bit, snickering, "Her name's Hazel. She's Spin's girlfriend, Paige's .."  
  
"Shadow?" Sean chimed in, grinning as Jimmy shot him a look.  
  
".. And she's one of the most popular .."  
  
"Bitches?" Sean.  
  
"Cameron, you're lucky your cousin is hot, otherwise I'd kick your ass out of the car right now."  
  
Silence.  
  
I turned bright red as Jimmy shot me another grin, and I could feel Sean's cold glare on his back. Marco cleared his throat, and Spinner blinked innocently.  
  
"Anywaaaaays. Craig is called Lord Stud cause he can't keep it in his pants."  
  
"SPINNER!"  
  
"WHAT!? It's true! Do we need to call Miss Ashley Kerwin and the lovely Manny Santos for conformation? Cause I can. Marco, give me your phone."  
  
Craig shot Spinner a look as I tried to contain my laughter. Marco shook his head, so did Jimmy, and Sean patted Craig on the back, grinning, trying not to laugh as well.

* * *

  
Traffic is the most evil thing, ever.  
  
And being in a car for more than an hour drives you stir crazy.  
  
I let out an annoyed sigh, as we finally were about apparently 30 minutes away from Degrassi. We had been sitting in traffic in Toronto for what it seemed for hours, and it was about 6 or 7 now. Spinner had fallen asleep in the back seat, Marco had been dozing off from time to time, and Sean had passed out in a dead sleep. I knew, since I had poked at his leg for about 10 minutes straight and didn't get my ass kicked. Oh, what a nice and lovely cousin I am ..  
  
So that left a half-asleep Craig, Jimmy and I to maintain the boredom. We had their band's demo, Downtown Sasquatch, playing softly, not to wake up the three sleeping beauties in the back, and they told me all about Degrassi. It seemed pretty interesting, actually, and I was slightly amused at how much drama seemed to surround my cousin's life. They told me about Sean and his ex's Emma's recent break up, which Sean hadn't told me about, and his new girlfriend, Ellie. We were currently talking about the battle of the bands competition that they had entered, and I grinned widely as I turned to look at Craig.  
  
"Hell Hath no Fury? Shit, Craiggers. Ashley is one of those angst "don't fuck with me, I'll mess you up," type of chicks, isn't she?" I asked, talking softly, and Jimmy chuckled at my question.  
  
"Something like that." Craig shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"She really had a shirt of you?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"And you were on fire?"  
  
"Yeah.."  
  
"And she made these other girls wear them and hate you too?"  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
"Daaaaamn," I raised my eyebrows, a bit taken back, and Craig smiled meekly, shrugging. Jimmy laughed, shaking his head, his eyes never leaving the road.  
  
"Ashley really grilled his ass with the lyrics, too." Jimmy stated.  
  
"Bite me."  
  
"No thanks, have _Manuela _do it for you."  
  
I burst into giggles as Craig hit Jimmy's arm, glaring at him. Jimmy chuckled, the bright grin still plastered on his face.  
  
"Manny seems _lovely_," I smirked, looking to Craig as I hit the lever on the seat to lean it back, the seat barely in Craig's lap. I got comfortable, pulling my jacket off the floor and wrapped it around myself. Craig shrugged, smirking somewhat.  
  
"I guess you could say that."  
  
"Aww, does wittle Craiggy-waggy still like her?" I asked, running my hand through Craig's curls, ruffling his hair. He blushed, glaring playfully at me as he let out a laugh.  
  
But I couldn't help notice the look of jealousy in Jimmy's eyes ..  
  
I shrugged it off and bounced up since the tape had ended, much to Craig's disappointment. I leaned the seat back up, flipping through stations determined to find something decent. I turned around minutes after, and Craig had dozed off as well. How cute. If I had a camera .. wait. I grinned innocently, pulling my cell phone out of my pocket, grinning as I took a picture of the four sleeping in the back. Jimmy chuckled, seeing what I was doing, and grinned.  
  
"They're gonna kill you if they ever find out," he said.  
  
"Which is why it's our little secret, James." I said, beaming as the phone was placed in my purse, and poked his nose.  
  
"You're somethin' else, Cameron."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
He laughed and glanced over to me as I continued to flip through stations. "Sunshine" by Lil' Flip suddenly came through the speakers and I beamed, grinning from ear to ear as I turned it up a bit more. Jimmy laughed, "You're into hip-hop?"  
  
"I'm into everything," I shrugged, "from Good Charlotte to DJ Mad Bullets.."  
  
"No shit? You like DJ Mad Bullets?" He asked, suprised. I grinned, shrugging a shoulder.  
  
"Who doesn't?"  
  
He grinned, and we both laughed. When the chrous to the song came on, I found myself singing aloud, Jimmy watching from the corner of his eye.  
  
"_Sunshine - I can call you my baby boy.  
  
You can call me your baby girl.  
  
Maybe we can spend some time,  
  
I can be your sunshine.  
  
I can call you my baby boy,  
  
You can call me your baby girl.  
  
Maybe we can spend sometime,  
  
I can be your sunshine _.."

  


  
"Damn, girl." He laughed, "I should tell the guys we should have you be in the band and sing instead of Craig."  
  
"Oh, shut up. I'm not that good. I drabble," I said, grinning cheesily at him as I hit his arm lightly.  
  
"You're trippin' if you don't think that's good," Jimmy said, grinning.  
  
I blushed, smiling at him as a silent thankful, feeling my heart beat going crazy as I quickly looked out the window, as we pulled onto Degrassi Street.  


  
_We don't have to be in love .. _


	4. Love and Basketball

After not updating for about two/three months.. cough I still have NO idea where this is going. None. What-so-ever. -.-; Writer's block is a bitch, what can I say?  
  
So, yes. Once again if owned Degrassi, Aubrey Graham and Jake Epstein would be locked in my closet. Cough. Cough. Maybe Daniel Clark, too. HEHEHE.  
  
Chapter Four: Love & Basketball.

* * *

"You shouldn't wake him up."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Because, it's like. Waking the dead or something."  
  
"How would you know what waking the dead is like, Marco?"  
  
".. Shut up, Craig. You know what I mean."  
  
"No, I don't. That's why I asked."  
  
"You guys, shut up for once, eh?"  
  
"Sean's right, amazingly enough. Besides, he's getting drool all over my seat. Wake him up, Ronnie."  
  
"Me!? Why me?"  
  
"Because you're a chick. He won't kill you."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"... You guys suck." Ronnie gave Jimmy a look, who grinned innocently and held his hands up in defense. Craig, Sean, and Marco all snickered. The five (well, four. Jimmy was driving, since they all wanted to go and get something to eat) of them all then looked to Spinner, who was snoring lightly, his mouth wide open, and a little drool on his chin.  
  
"Aww, do I have too? He looks so cute." Ronnie said, smirking, reaching out to pinch Spinner's cheek.  
  
Marco snickered, "If you think polar bears are cute, sure."  
  
"Ooo, Marco. I'm telling Dylan." Craig said, grinning as Marco rolled his eyes and smacked Craig's arm.  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"OW! That hurt!"  
  
"It was supposed to."  
  
"Ass."  
  
"Takes one to know one, dillhole."  
  
"You guys fight to much," Ronnie said, laughing, and continued to poke and pull at Spinner's face.  
  
"But Mommy, I don't wanna go to school. Paige'll eat me alive," Spinner muttered, shifting his weight around while he slept.  
  
Silence.  
  
The car then burst into laughter, Ronnie clamping a hand over her mouth and singaling them to quiet down. Sean supressed his laughter, snickering loudly, as Craig and Marco continued to crack up. Jimmy was obviously trying to hold it in.  
  
"Don't we have to wake him up to know what he wants to eat anyway?"  
  
"Man, Sean, Spinner's a garbage disposel. He'll eat anything."  
  
"That's nasty." Ronnie wrinkled her nose in disgust, and the guys laughed.  
  
The escalade soon pulled into a McDonald's drive thru, and they all ordered, and ended up letting Jimmy pay "since it was his car," Craig had said smugly, and Sean added on the whole 'since he's sucha nice guy' comment, causing Jimmy to almost hit him, but didn't when Ronnie patted him on the knee and thanked him, sipping on her coke. Jimmy had muttered a reply, shrugged his shoulders and kept driving, ignoring the laughter from the back seat.  
  
Soon they pulled into Degrassi street, and into Sean's drive way, and they all piled out of the car, food (or, what was left of it) in their hands. Ronnie had the pleasure of waking up Spinner, and groaned, reluctantly sitting in the passanger seat, poking and shaking Spinner, who just mummurred incoherantly and smacked at Ronnie's hands.  
  
"What's his full name?" Ronnie yelled out, waiting for a response.  
  
"Gavin Reginald Mason," Jimmy said, smirking smugly, leaning against his car, watching Craig, Sean and Marco take Ronnie's bags inside.  
  
".. Why do you guys call him Spinner?" She asked, cocking her head to the side with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"He spins like a top when he doesn't take his meds," Jimmy said, looking over to Ronnie who gave him a confused look. He snickered, "He has ADD."  
  
"Ah. That explains a lot."  
  
Jimmy couldn't help but laugh. This girl was pretty cute. Ok, she was a babe. He couldn't believe this charming, witty and beautiful girl was a Cameron. She seemed to be so opposite from her cousin -- Sean was cold, an asshole if you got on his bad side, but his cousin was a sweetheart. He glanced over to her, smiling to himself as he watched her continue to pull at Spinner's face.  
  
"GAAAAAAAAVIN!" Ronnie yelled in Spinner's ear, shaking his shoulders. Spinner jumped, falling backwards, and looked to Ronnie, wide eyed with an eyebrow raised.  
  
"What the hell!"  
  
"Good morning, Sunshine." Ronnie said sweetly, patting his mop of out of control cave-man like hair, and Jimmy burst out laughing.  
  
".. You guys got food?" Spinner said, hurt, staring at the McDonald's cup that was in Ronnie's hand.  
  
"Yeah. The guys ordered stuff for you, man. Sean put it in the kitchen." Jimmy said, and before either he or Ronnie knew it, Spinner had climbed out of the car and was making a mad dash towards the inside, pushing Marco out of his way as he came through the door.  
  
Jimmy and Ronnie looked to each other, and started to laugh.

* * *

"Emma. What the hell is that?"  
  
"Sean's radio," Emma Nelson replied non-chalantly, as she watched her best friend, Manny Santos, grab a chair and look out the basement window.  
  
"What are they doing over there?" Manny said, "I can't friggin see anything."  
  
"Gee, Manny, since when are you so interested in Sean and what he does?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow as she glanced over to her.  
  
"I'm not. I'm just curi-- is that Craig? And Spinner? Marco, Jimmy -- who's the chick!"  
  
Emma let curiousity get to her, as she grabbed another chair, standing next to Manny as the two tried to see out of the window. "How do you know that's them? One, I can't even hear them over that so called "music"," she paused from what she was saying to do the air quotes around music, "they have on, and two, you can only see there feet. How do you know there's a girl?"  
  
"You only reason you think it's not music is because it's what Chris listens too."  
  
"Manny!"  
  
"What? It's true. Anyway," Manny started, slowly, "See those black vans? I bought those for Craig during our whole little "one big happy family" stage before the abortion. And I figure the others are there because, well, they go everywhere together. And the yellow converses? Besides the fact they are kind of tacky and were out of style months ago, I don't think anyone but a girl would wear that color of them," She said, matter-of-factly, and Emma gave her a look.  
  
"Who would the girl be?" Emma asked aloud, instantly regretting it as Manny gave her a smug smile.  
  
"Why, Emma, do I sense a bit of jealousy?" Manny batted her eyelashes, and Emma rolled her eyes.  
  
"No!" Emma said, all too quickly, and cleared her throat, ignoring the smirk on Manny's face, "But if Sean's cheating on Ellie, I wanna catch him."  
  
"You're so not over him," Manny said, and Emma shot her a look. "All right, all right. I take it back." She said, grinning as Emma rolled her eyes at her yet again.  
  
"Come on," she said, jumping down from the chair and making her way towards the steps that exited her basement bedroom, "While I find out who that girl is, you can flirt with your precious Craiggy, since JT will never find out since he's still at camp."  
  
Manny opened her mouth to protest, but smirked, hopping down from the chair and following Emma.

* * *

"Man, Cameron, your cousin is better at ball then you are!" Spinner shouted, and Sean simply gave him the finger while the other guys laughed.  
  
The six of them sat on the edge of the side walk, drinking water, taking a short break from their game. Ronnie smiled smugly as Sean rolled his eyes, smirking. "I taught her all she knows! Of course she's good."  
  
"Come down from the ego high, Seanie," Ronnie said, sticking her tongue out at Sean, sitting between Jimmy and Craig. "Should we do new teams? Since, you know, Spinner, Marco and I kicked all of ya'lls asses."  
  
"You got lucky," Jimmy said, smirking as Craig nodded in agreement.  
  
"So how about me, Ronnie.." Craig started, draping his arm around Ronnie's shoulder, "And Sean against Jimmy, Marco and Spin?"  
  
Jimmy opened his mouth to say something, but Spinner jumped up, "You're on! Let's go, man. We'll kick your asses, even though we have a handicap." Spinner smirked, nodding towards Marco, who rolled his eyes.  
  
"Uh, I think the game might have to wait, Spin." Marco stated.  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Because a certain blonde and brunette that our exes to Sean and Craig are making their way over here," He said, motioning behind Spinner.  
  
The five of them raised their eyebrows, sure as hell seeing Manny and Emma walking towards them. Sean let out a groan, burrying his his face in his hands and Craig cleared his throat, slowly removing his arm from Ronnie's shoulders, who looked over to Sean giving him a confused look.  
  
"Hi, Craig!" Manny chirped, and then raised an eyebrow, motioning to Ronnie, "Who's your new friend?"  
  
Emma rolled her eyes at Manny, who elbowed her in response.  
  
"She's my cousin," Sean said, glancing to Emma and then to Manny, "Veronica Cameron, Manny Santos and Emma Nelson. Emma, Manny, my cousin, Ronnie."  
  
"Hi," Emma replied, dryly, and Manny waved slightly.  
  
"Hey," Ronnie nodded upwards toward the two.  
  
"So!" Spinner cleared his throat, trying to break the tension, "Nelson, Manny. You two up for some basketball? Manny can be with me, Jimmy and Marco and Emma can be with Ronnie, Craig and Sean."  
  
"I don't think that's such a good id--" Emma started, but was elbowed by Manny, who was beaming from ear to ear.  
  
"Sure, why not. Sounds like fun, right, Em?" She asked, looking over to the blonde, who shot her a look.  
  
Sean gave Spinner a look, and so did Craig, but Spinner easily shrugged. Jimmy and Ronnie raised their eyebrows and looked on, and Marco just simply shook his head.  
  
It was going to be a loooong, long night.

* * *

"Pass me the ball!" Manny yelled, jumping up and down, trying to get Marco's attention.  
  
The basketball was knocked out of Marco's hand, and Craig took his shot, from half way on the court, and grinned ear to ear as the swish of the net was heard.  
  
"That's game, right? So what do we do now?" Manny ran a hand through her hair, sweating, and gave Spinner a look.  
  
Spinner smirked. He had to admit, this brilliant idea of his was actually brilliant for once. Sean was actually having a good time it seemed. Emma had loosend up and began to have fun, which suprised Spinner. Despite the fact Manny and Craig had last year's history, they were being civil towards each other. In a way, that is. Marco didn't seem to feel out of place. Jimmy, was being Jimmy, and was actually having a blast, and flirting with Ronnie, doing a graduatory lap around the drive way with her on his back if she made a good play. He had to pat himself on the back, he had done good. Did good. Whatever.  
  
"Hello, earth to Spinner."  
  
"Huh?" Spinner said, blinking. He looked over to Manny, his eyebrows raised, mostly at the look and the smile Manny had on her lips.  
  
Wait.  
  
What the hell.  
  
Why am I looking at her lips?  
  
"I said, what do we do now? Since this was your idea," She motioned to the rest of them. Craig and Marco were playing two on two with Emma and Marco. Jimmy and Ronnie were sitting on the curb, and both Spinner and Manny noticed Jimmy's hoodie that Ronnie was wearing, since it had gotten a bit cooler.  
  
"I don't know. I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking in the first place." Spinner said, honestly, and ran a hand through his hair.  
  
"I'm glad you did. You know, think of this."  
  
"Oh? And why is that, Miss Santos?"  
  
Manny grinned, "Well, just loook at them," she motioned over to Sean and Emma, "Emma and Sean are actually talking. I can't speak for Sean, but I know Emma has been like, totally heartbroken since they had that terrible break up. He hurt her, she hurt him. It's obvious that they need each other."  
  
"What about Ellie?" Spinner asked, intrigued by Manny's whole analogy, glancing to Emma, who was laughing at something Sean had said, and Sean had a huge grin on his face.  
  
"Ellie's been good for him, I'll admit that. But first loves are hard to get over," Manny stated, her gaze falling on Craig.  
  
Spinner scoffed, following her gaze. "You're still hung up on Lord Stud, huh?"  
  
"Maybe," she started, slowly, and bit down on her lip as her chocolate colored eyes burned into the back of Craig's head, "I mean, sure, I miss him sometimes. But, I have JT now. And it's good, really good." She took a deep breathe, looking back over to Spinner. "I'm over it."  
  
"You're a horrible liar, Manny." His voice was emotionless, but he found it true. She was lying to herself, because everyone could see that lonely little girl Manny really was, and how much inlove with Craig Manning she had always been.  
  
"Yeah, well. Sometimes lying is the only way."  
  
Spinner simply nodded his head. The two were silent for a moment, and then the tune of "Girls" by Beastie Boys was heard, and Spinner pulled out his cell phone out of his pocket, looking to the ID. Paige. He was supposed to be with Paige. He silently cursed to himself as he saw Manny watching him, and opened the phone, putting it to his ear. "Hi, Honeybee."  
  
Manny rolled her eyes.  
  
"Where am I? I'm, uh." He paused, "At Craig's. We have to rehearse. Why? -- Because uhm, we might get a gig. Yeah, a real gig. Isn't it great-- no, I'm not lying. Where else would I be, sweet potato? Okay, I'll tell Marco to call Dylan. Hazel wants to talk to Jimmy? He's in the bathroom. Okay, love you too. Bye."  
  
He shut the phone, and turned to Manny, his eyebrows raised at the smile, again, that was on her face. "What?"  
  
"You lied."  
  
"Huh?" He blinked.  
  
"You lied to Paige. Why?"  
  
Spinner never found Manny Santos attractive till her dramatic make over last year in grade nine. He had one in counter with her, and had knocked her over when he was in grade eight, made her cry, and he had never really been around her since. She was friends with Kendra, his little sister, and they had ice skating classes together, which Spinner would find himself watching her from time to time. But he was 100 for Paige. But he did encourage Craig's little fantasy of having two girlfriends at once, of him being 'Lord Stud', and saying Manny was "cute, adorable, like ice cream, but hot," and he was starting to realize that he, too, had found her attractive.  
  
"Sometimes lying is the only way." He repeated her words, slowly, as she nodded her head in agreement, and found herself smiling up at him. He smiled back, and ran a hand through his messy hair.

* * *

"So how are things between you and Chris?" Sean had blurted out, as he and Emma stood on the drive way, shooting hoops together. Her face had fallen slightly at his question, and he stood, holding the ball, waiting for her response.  
  
Being around Emma was awkard for Sean. One, he was use to her shooting him looks that could kill and ignoring him all together. That was she had done when he had been working on Mr. Simpson's car as of late. She was avoiding him, and he could tell, because everytime her parents had invited him inside for a soda or something to eat, she was nowhere to be found. He could hear the music blaring from the basement, or sometimes her voice talking on the phone, or the loud clacking of her finger tips hitting the keyboard. She always typed fast, furiously, he had noticed. Maybe it had to do with him being there.  
  
The other reason he found it weird to be around Emma, was because he couldn't help but notice the fact that she had became goregous. He had always been that way to him when they were dating, but over the first month of the summer, her hair had grown longer, and she had bangs that were over her face, and he noticed the change in her wardorbe, which he figured Manny had something to do with that. Or she was dressing up for Chris. He rolled his eyes at the thought of Emma Nelson, the "prude princess" dating a wannabe DJ like Chris Sharpe.  
  
"We broke up." She simply said, her eyes avoiding his, as the ball went through the net when he made a shot, and she passed it back to him.  
  
"Oh," was all he could say. He started to dribble the ball back and forth, glancing into her eyes once in a while.  
  
"What about you and Ellie?" She asked, and he couldn't help but notice how she had said his girlfriend's name - sharply and somewhat sarcasticly. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking at him, and slowly crossed her arms across her chest.  
  
"We're good." Sean said. And it was the truth. He loved being with Ellie -- his relationship with her was one of the only good things he had going for him after he and Emma split. "She seems to understand me," he found himself saying outloud, and winced yet again, seeing the blank expression on Emma's face.  
  
"That's good. I'm glad you're happy."  
  
You suck at lying, Emma. He said to himself, but decided not to call her on it. Instead, he nodded, and silence came over them yet again. He shot the ball and watched as it hit the rim, and bounced to Emma's feet. She picked it up, and stood next to him, throwing the ball into the hoop and through the net. He smirked, somewhat amused, watching her go and retrieve it. "Nice shot."  
  
"I learned from the best," she said, and flashed him a small smile, and he chuckled.  
  
Maybe things between them weren't so weird afterall.

* * *

"You guys want anything to drink? I'm suprised our fridge works, I didn't imagine Sean having half the place set up by the time I got here," Ronnie called as she made her way into the kitchen, Jimmy and Craig not too far behind.  
  
"You got any soda?" Craig asked, as he sat down on one of the stools near the kitchen counter. Ronnie nodded her head, and swung open the fridge door, grabbing a coke and setting it on the counter.  
  
"What about you, Jim?" Ronnie asked, leaning on the counter, and flashed him a small smile. Jimmy sat down next to Craig, and shrugged his shoulders, returning the grin.  
  
"I don't know, suprise me."  
  
"Soda it is," she laughed a bit, grabbing two more cans from the fridge and setting one down infront of Jimmy, taking her own and opening it, taking a sip. "So. Is this what it's like here during the summer? You all just hang out and play ball?"  
  
"When there's not drama, yeah. Pretty much." Craig said, taking a sip of his soda as well, "That, and concerts, going to the beach.. that's pretty much it. And then back to the halls of Degrassi we go."  
  
"Where drama is spawned and formed," Jimmy said, rolling his eyes, and Ronnie grinned.  
  
"Is it that bad?"  
  
"Nah, not really." Jimmy flashed another smile at her, and rolled his shoulders back. "Just be prepared for catty girls, fights between guys, cheating, lying, stealing and everything else you can imagine."  
  
Ronnie let out a small laugh as she shook her head, "Sounds fun." Craig nodded his head as well, and they both watched Ronnie set her soda down and put her dirty blonde hair in a messy bun.  
  
"So what else do you wanna do tonight, Miss Cameron?" Craig asked, wiggling his eyebrows.  
  
Jimmy opened his mouth to say something, yet again, but this time was interupted by his cellphone playing the tune of "Jesus Walks" by Kayne West. Sighing, he dug through his pocket and pulled out the phone, reading the caller ID that had "Hazel" across the screen. "I gotta take this," he said, to Ronnie more than Craig, and walked down the hall, putting the phone to his ear. "Hey, babygirl."  
  
"Jimmy? Where the hell are you? We had a date! And why are you whispering?" Hazel's voice yelled through the other line, and Jimmy winced, trying to think of an excuse that didn't involve 'hanging out with the guys, a hot girl and Emma and Manny.'  
  
"I'm sorry, Haze. I'll make it up to you, all right?" He scratched the back of his neck, "The guys and are .. hanging out. Lost track of time. Forgive me?"  
  
"Yeah, well. Just don't do it again." She said, slowly, "Call me later. I love you."  
  
Jimmy raised his eyebrows, and cleared his throat, "Yeah. Later." He hung up, and put the phone back in his pocket. He made his way into the kitchen, and was suprised at the hurt, yet jealous expression that Ronnie had on her face. He sat back down on the stool next to Craig, and listened to the two start talking, noticing how Ronnie avoided looking at him.  
  
She's jealous. He realized, and blinked. Jimmy watched as she laughed at one of Craig's corny jokes, and she touched his arm. Craig had that corny, dorky grin on his face, and Jimmy cursed silently to himself, taking another sip of his soda.  
  
He needed to dump Hazel. And fast. 


End file.
